Middian
Middian was a short-lived doom/progressive band from Eugene, Oregon. Formed in 2006 after the dissolution of Yob it became the main musical project of Mike Scheidt, releasing one studio album in 2007 before disbanding the next year. Compared to Yob the band had a progressive rock influence to their style of doom, sounding more up-tempo and with Scheidt and Lindsay sharing vocal duties. Their name shares a similarity to the underground city of monsters in the Clive Barker novel "Cabal" (Later released on the silver screen as "Nightbreed".). History In late 2005 Yob would break up largely due to burnout and a lack of interest in touring between band members. Thus Middian was formed quickly in late 2005 by Scheidt, stating "I decided to start a new band: very much in the vein of YOB, but more angry and mid-paced on average, but still with roots in slow doom and the cosmic vibe that was a part of YOB.".Middian.orgAccessed 17 August 2017 Scheidt would recruit Will Lindsay and Scott Headrick, both of which had never played in a doom metal band previously. Quickly the band began to compose songs for an upcoming album with Middian's earliest known live performance was on 2 June 2006 at Berbati's Pan in Portland (With The Lord Weird, Slough Feg, Conifer and Wolves In The Throneroom). The band would follow with a couple dates with Ludicra and a headlining appearance at Stoner Hands of Doom in Mesa, Arizona. In the summer of 2006 the band had also signed to Metal Blade Records.Middian.orgAccessed 17 August 2017 By November 2006 tracking and mixing would be finished for their debut record. Age Eternal would see it's release on 20 March 2007 via Metal Blade Records with a 2LP issue coming later. An appearance/release party happened at CD World in Eugene as the band toured the West Coast with Minsk throughout the summer, including an appearance at Emissions from the Monolith. However in October 2007, the band received a "cease and desist order" from a Wisconsin-based groove metal group "Midian" demanding that Middian stop using their name completely. Included were orders to cease all sales and existence of physical recordings by Middian. Mike Scheidt would state the following of the situation: "They refused to accept our settlement, demanding we pay them tens of thousands of dollars. By right of actual usage worldwide, the name Middian is ours. Regardless, we have no choice but to fight and to defend ourselves in court. We intend to strip them of their trademark and deny them their unfair demands of money and of our music." Because of the ongoing legal battle at the time between the two groups Middian was forced to disband on 17 December 2007 as due to the lawsuit from the Wisconsin-based group the band was not allowed to use the name in any capacity. Metal Blade Records also dropped the band from their label and was no longer able to sell any more copies of Age Eternal.LambgoatAccessed 17 August 2017 However later that month Middian would start a donation fund for legal fees to continue the fight with the Wisconsin-based group.LambgoatAccessed 17 August 2017 Middian would do a short tour with Indian in early 2008 though it's not known if the band went by that name or the later re-branding of Age Eternal, after the group's only album.LambgoatAccessed 17 August 2017 On 29 August 2008 however, Middian/Age Eternal would ultimately disband with Will Lindsay moving to Washington and joining Wolves in the Throne Room while Scott Headrick moved to Idaho. The band would leave a statement on their MySpace page: At the time of the band's dissolution Travis Foster would get back in touch with Scheidt about doing a Yob reunion. With new bassist Aaron Rieseberg the group would reform in 2008, eventualy going back to recording and performing live on a full-time basis. Scheidt would eventually speak about the band's dissolution and his learning experiences of the former group in an interview with The Aquarian circa 2009: Discography * Age Eternal (2007, Metal Blade Records) Members * Will Lindsay - Bass, Vocals (2006 - 2008) * Mike Scheidt - Guitar, Vocals (2006 - 2008) * Scott Headrick - Drums (2006 - 2008) Tours * Minsk/Middian Tour (With Minsk) (2007)LambgoatMiddian.org * Indian/Middian Tour (With Indian) (2008) External Links *Archived Webpage via Wayback Machine *Archived Interview with Scheidt via Stonerrock.com *Anniversary Writeup via Doodlehound References Category:Band Category:Mike Scheidt Category:Eugene Category:Oregon Category:USA Category:Sludge Metal Category:Progressive Metal Category:Yob Category:One-Offs Category:Doom Metal